Potluck in Dorchester on October 3rd, 2009

OCTOBER 3rd, 2009

Today's Event is
at


150 Mt. Vernon Street, Suite 520
Dorchester, MA 02125

Corcoran Jennison Building
at Bayside Office Center at Columbia Point

TAKE THE REDLINE TO JFK STOP and WALK
To Tall glass building. WE are in the downstairs

For more info (617) 910-6987
Frank

BSP welcomes Charline Alexandre

Aug. 10, 2009

Dear Member of the Boston Scholars Community:

I am writing to you to inform you of the appointment of a new and important member of the Boston Scholars Program staff, Ms. Charline Alexandre. As many of you know, July of 2009 was Kira Glassman’s year of service as our inaugural Americorps Ambassador of Mentoring. As an organization, we are very grateful to Kira for her helpful year of service during a challenging year for Boston Scholars. As Kira starts her next opportunity, we are delighted that she will continue to help Boston Scholars as a member of our Leadership Council.

We are pleased to announce the selection of Ms. Charline Alexandre as the Ambassador of Mentoring for the coming year, 2009-2010. Boston Scholars was fortunate to receive a great many resumes of candidates who want to work directly with our Scholars. After interviews with over 10 candidates, we chose Charline. We are very pleased that Charline accepted and is joining Boston Scholars to work with us during for this very important year for our organization. As an Americorps Ambassador of Mentoring, Charline will be serving through the end of July of 2010. We are very fortunate to benefit from her skill, commitment, energy and passion for helping students reach their goals.

Ms. Charline Alexandre

Charline grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and attended public school in Tampa, Fla. In 2008, Charline graduated from Lesley University, which is located in Cambridge, Ma. At Lesley, she majored in World History and minored in secondary education. While at Lesley, she won the Sally K. Lenhardt Leadership Award in 2006. While in college, Charline found time to broaden her horizons and travel aboard to cities like Florence, Italy. We are very excited to have her on staff to work with our Scholars, Mentors, families and partner organizations.

In the coming weeks, you will receive various mailings from Charline and me. As Program Associate, some of Charline’s work will include working closely with the recruitment and admission of new Scholars, the ongoing recruitment of Mentors, strengthening our capacity to provide match support and coordinating Boston Scholars community events. As we move forward on what will be a challenging year during this economic downturn (and an office relocation!), I know we count on the cooperation of the Scholars, families and partners within the BSP community. Going forward, we are exploring ways to strengthening our mentoring matches in number and quality. Charline can be reached at Charline@BostonScholars.org

Please join me in giving Charline a warm welcome to our BSP community. We will be in touch about community opportunities to meet her in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,

Frankie Cruz

Executive Director
FCruz@BostonScholars.org

Apply for our College Bound Scholars Project (CBS)

May 7, 2009
Dear Juniors, Seniors, and College Freshmen:



One of our goals in 2009 is to increase the number of high school upperclassmen in mentoring relationships. We think Scholars help themselves when they have access to the advice of mentors who are themselves college graduates and Boston professionals. To reinforce healthy mentoring matches among our upperclassmen, we aim to launch a few new initiatives to those Boston Scholars in the upper grades who are matched or soon to be matched.

If you do not have a mentor, don’t worry! You are also welcome to participate in this opportunity:

The Boston Scholars Program invites you to participate in The College Bound Scholars Program (CBS). This is a unique opportunity within the Boston Scholars Program that will be only be available to four to six students this spring. Sign up now. We are planning to have 3 Panel Discussions, one in June, July & August.

As a College Bound Scholar, you will receive…

- One-on-one support from a mentor to provide guidance and career exploration as you transition from high school to college
- Numerous networking and/or internship opportunities
- Access to panel discussions led by Boston professionals covering topics from time management to interviewing skills to writing the college essay
- After attending all three panels and/or being matched, you will receive a $30 gift card to a local book store
- Much more!

To apply to CBS, please provide a thoughtful answer to the following question in no less than 500 words:

Why do you want to participate in the College Bound Scholars program?

Please email your application to kira@bostonscholars.org by May 15, ‘09 by 7 pm. Feel free to call with questions at (617) 956-0216.


Frank Cruz Kira Glassman
Executive Director Program Associate

8th Graders Can APPLY NOW to BOSTON SCHOLARS

The Boston Scholars Program

2009 Admissions Information

What is Boston Scholars?
The Boston Scholars Program provides educational opportunity to disadvantaged Boston-area students through tuition scholarships and student mentoring.

Who Can Apply to BSP?
Low-income 8th graders who are applying to tuition-based high schools and are interested in benefiting from a mentor should apply to BSP.

When are applications due?
Applications to BSP are due the first Monday of each month until July (March 2, April 6, May 4, June 1 and July 6).
It works in your favor to apply as soon as possible. So, don't put it off any longer!

How do I apply?
Visit www.BostonScholars.org
to download an application.

For more information, please contact Kira Glassman at Kira@BostonScholars.org or
at 617-956-0216.

Shop Online & You canMake a free Donation to BSP

Did you know that you can Shop Online

and Boston Scholars Program will get a donation!!

Yes, it is true! It takes seconds so Tell your family and friends.

So next time you are shopping online at

Target, Macys, Bloomingdales, BestBuy,

Office Depot, Staples, Kohls, Expedia, &

many other great stores!

Now, You and your friends can have GoodShop

make a much needed gift

to the BOSTON SCHOLARS PROGRAM?

Take a Look at how easy it is. http://www.goodshop.com/?charityid=802469

Why delay, go ahead and start your holiday shopping today!

http://www.goodshop.com/?charityid=802469

Give it a try! Another creative way to Support the Boston Scholars Program.

I thank the dedicated mentor, Mr. J. Dunbar, for bringing this unique opportunity
to our attention! Way to go, Joe the Mentor!

Sincerely,

Frankie Cruz, Executive Director

Become a Monthly Donor to Boston Scholars

The following link

can be

used to become

a monthly donor to

Boston Scholars Program.

We will be very grateful

for the commitment

to our work

during these difficult fundraising days of 2008.

https://www.networkforgood.org/donation/MakeDonation.aspx?ORGID2=200584103

Boston Scholars Selected as Finalist for 2009 Social Innovation Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Susan Musinsky,

617-492-2305

Social Innovation Forum
smusinsky@socialinnovationforum.org

http://www.socialinnovationforum.org/

The Boston Scholars Program Selected

as Finalist for

2009 Social Innovator Award

The Social Innovation Forum has named 29 nonprofit organizations as finalists competing for six $100,000 awards of cash and support services

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS—The Social Innovation Forum, a Root Cause initiative, has selected The Boston Scholars Program as one of 29 innovative, results-oriented nonprofit organizations competing to receive access to over $100,000 in cash and services. More than 60 leaders in business, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector reviewed over 120 applications for the 2009 Social Innovator Award. The six Social Innovators will be announced and celebrated during an evening event in Cambridge on Tuesday, December 9, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Chris Gabrieli, a Social Investor and Chairman of Mass2020, explains the Forum’s model: "We are all looking for nonprofit organizations we can invest in with confidence. The Social Innovation Forum is a unique and impressive program that provides a great opportunity to learn, leverage our resources, and meet dynamic social entrepreneurs who are making a real difference in our communities."

Through its in-depth work in the Boston community, the Boston Scholars Program opens doors for disadvantaged youth through educational opportunity. They achieve their mission by granting low-income Boston-area students with scholarships to attend challenging tuition-based high schools. Secondly, the Boston Scholars Program matches each Scholar with a mentor from the Boston professional community. Thirdly, Boston Scholars Program offers leadership development opportunities to their Scholars. Overall, they provide the positive influences necessary to guide their Scholars to open up a world of new opportunities previously not thought possible. In 2008, Boston Scholars announced that 100% of the pioneering Boston Scholars, admitted in 2004, enrolled in colleges in 2008.

The Social Innovation Forum accelerates the development of enduring solutions to social problems by directing an alternative flow of local resources to innovative, results-oriented nonprofit organizations striving for efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability. The annual Showcase Event in the spring provides a unique opportunity for up-and-coming organizations to gain visibility and expand their networks. For 2009, the Social Innovation Forum has partnered with leading local foundations to feature six Social Issue Tracks. With these track partners, the Forum aims to identify highly effective approaches to address Greater Boston’s most pressing social issues and to initiate discussion on how to generate enduring solutions.

The Social Innovation Forum will choose one leading organization from each Social Issue Track. These Social Innovators will be invited to present their work to local leaders in philanthropy, business, government, and academia at the Social Innovation Forum’s Showcase Event, scheduled for Tuesday, May 5, 2009.

Social Innovators also receive access to support services from the Social Innovation Forum and its partners, including:

· A five-month consulting engagement from Root Cause;

· Participation in a peer-driven business planning and capacity-building process;

· The development of an investment prospectus and a marketing-oriented PowerPoint presentation;

· Executive advising from leaders in the business community who offer one year of guidance on building relationships;

· A capacity-building project in one of three areas—technology , marketing, or human resources— provided by Common Impact;

· Communication and presentation training from the Ariel Group;

· Additional executive coaching from the graduate training program of the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology; and

· A Service Grant from the Taproot Foundation focused on marketing, information technology, strategy management, or leadership development.

For the third year, the Social Innovation Forum’s track partners are also able to offer financial support to Social Innovators. Each organization will receive $10,000 from the sponsoring track partner, with the potential of an additional $5,000 to follow a year later upon meeting specific milestones. These cash awards, in combination with the services listed above, thus provide each chosen Innovator with access to over $100,000 in cash and services.

Root Cause is a nonprofit organization that advances enduring solutions to social and economic problems by supporting social innovators and educating social impact investors. Root Cause does this work through business planning and implementation, leadership development, research, and the creation of networks that unite the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

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